Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-03-10
necessary eagerness

"Well," said Zenobia, II reckon you all
know Ned Falkner and the Excelsior Ditchp
ayes, Falkner's the superintendent of it,
said Rawlins. "And a square man too Thar
amt anything mean about him."
"Shake," said Zenobia, extending her
hand. Rawlins shook the proffered hand
with eager spontaneousness, and the girl re-
sumed: "He's about ez good ez they make
'en-you bet. Well, you know Ned has put
ell his money, and all his strength, and all
his sabe, and"-
"His good looks" added Clinch, mis-
chievously.
"Into that DITCH" continued zenobia, ig-
noring the interruption. "It's his mother,
it's his sweetheart, it's his everythingl When
other chaps of his age was cavortin' round
Frisco, and havin' high jinks Ned was in his
ditch. Wait till the ditch is done, he used
to say Wait till she begins to boom, and
then you just stand round More'n that. he
got all the boys to put in their last cent-for
they loved Ned, and love him now, like ez eff
he wos woman"
That's So" said Clinch and Rawlins SIM
ultaneously, "and he's worth it,"
"Well," continued Zenobia, athe ditch
didn't boom ez soon ez they kallxilated. And
then the boys kept gettin' poorer and poorer,
and Ned he kept gettin' poorer and poorer in
everything but his hopefhlness end grit.
Then he looks around for more capital And
about this time that coyote Harlxins smelt
suthin' nice up there, and he gifts Ned to give
him control Of it and he'll lend him his name
and fix up a company. Soon ez he gets con
troll, the first thing he does is to say that it
wants 100000 o money to make it pay
and levies an assessment of $500 a share
That's sothin' for them rich fellows TO paw
or pretend to pay, but for boys on grub
wages it meant cnly ruin They souldn't
pay, and had to forfeit their shares
for next to nothing. And Ned made
one more desperate attempt to save
them and himself by borrowing money
on his shares; when that hound
Harkins got wind of it, and let it be buzzed
he was goin' out of it; that brought the
shares down to nothing. AS Ned couldn't
raise dollar tho new company swooped
down on his shares for the debts they had
put up, and left him and the boys to help
themselves Ned couldn't bear to face the
boys that he'd helped to ruin and put out,
and amt been heard from since. After
Harkins had got rid of Ned and the boys he
manages to pay OF that wonderful debt, and
sells out for 100000. That money-Neds
money-he sends to Sacramento, for he don't
dare to travel with it himself, and is kallSil-
atm to leave the kintry, for some of the boys
allow to kill him on sight SO eff you're
wantin' to hunt suthin', thars yer chance,
and you needn't go inter the snow to do it."
"But surely the law can recover this
money!" said Hale Indignantly. at is as in
famous a robbery as"-. He stopped as he
caught zenobia's eye.
"Ez last nights, you were goin' to say.
I'll call it more Them road agents don't
pretend to be your friend-but take yer
money and run their risks. For ez to the
law, that can't help yer"
ats skin game, and you might ez well
expect to recover a gambling debt from
short card sharp" explained Clinch; "Falk-
ner oughter shot him on sight"
"Or the boys lynched him." suggested
Rawlins.
II think" said Hale, more rehectively,
athat in the absence of legal remedy man
of that kind should have been forced under
strong physical menace to give up his i'll
gotten gains The money was the primary
object, and if that could be got without
bloodshed-which seems to me useless
crime-it would be quite as effective. OF
course, if there was resistance or retaliation,
it might be necessary to kill him"
He had unconsciously fallen into his old
didactic and dogmatic habit of speech, and
perhaps, under the spur of Zenobia's eyes, he
had given it some natural emphasis. A dead
silence followed, in which the others regarded
him with amused and gratified surprise, and
it was broken only by Zenobia rising and
holding out her hand. "Shake!"
Hale raised it calamity and pressed his lips
on the one spotless finger.
'That's gospel truth. And you amt the
first white man to say it"
Indeed" laughed Hale. "Who was the
otherF
George Lee"